Washington a big worry in new investors’ survey from UBS

Washington’s ability to make a deal to reduce the U.S. debt is a major worry for investors, according to a survey out Thursday from UBS Wealth Management Americas, with most investors concerned that lawmakers and the White House will keep making short-term deals instead of a “grand bargain.”

The bank surveyed 2,611 investors with at least $250,000 in investable assets, from March 19 to 25.

Of those investors, 73% said they were “highly concerned” about the political environment in Washington, and 60% were highly concerned about the size of the national debt. Because of their desire for spending cuts, few (27%) were concerned about the impact of the automatic spending cuts known as the sequester.

Meanwhile, 70% also said they were highly concerned about Washington making short-term deals instead of a comprehensive debt-reduction deal. Here is the link to the survey, first reported by Politico.

So far this spring, after the release of dueling budget plans from President Barack Obama, House Republicans, and Senate Democrats, investors’ fears about the inability to reach a grand bargain may be well-founded. Republicans quickly rejected Obama’s budget proposal, despite its inclusion of an alternate inflation measure that would reduce the growth of entitlement benefits. For his part, Obama said he’d met Republicans “more than halfway” on reducing the deficit.

The coming debate over lifting the debt ceiling, however, almost certainly means that Democrats and Republicans will head back to the bargaining table over spending cuts. House Speaker John Boehner is insisting on linking an increase in the borrowing limit to spending cuts, a sign that Republicans may force a showdown with the White House.